The folks at Idle Thumbs recently added an in-depth interview with FPS modder Adam Foster regarding his well-reviewed Minerva single-player mod for Half-Life 2, as well as his earlier Half-Life work.

This is heady, almost arty stuff, and Foster cites some interesting influences: "Foster cites Bungie Software’s Marathon series as a major influence in this regard... “The idea that a game's dialogue could operate on multiple levels, from general gameplay instruction overlaying the basic plot, to deeper secrets hidden within, explaining (perhaps) some of the true motivations behind that world—it all rather intrigued me.” Foster also admits to being a fan of Scottish sci-fi virtuoso Iain M. Banks. “His style of writing often involves hiding huge amounts of information in slightly ambiguous sentences, so much so that multiple readings of his books are a must. I'd like to think I've managed a little of that with MINERVA, but I have to hope my ego doesn't get in the way.” Interesting.